


The Light in Your Eyes

by Howmstever



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Howmstever/pseuds/Howmstever
Summary: Kelly and Marco have started spending a lot of time together, and Kelly is having trouble sorting out how she feels about it. And Tad always hanging around in the background isn't helping matters. But with some time and reflection, maybe she can come to a realization.
Relationships: Marco Diaz/Kelly (Star vs. The Forces of Evil), Star Butterfly/Tom Lucitor
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little bit of Kellco fluff since there's not very much of that to go around. It'll mostly be in the background but there's also a bit of Tomstar here. Starts canon compliant but will start diverging towards the end. This first part is right after Lava Lake Beach

“Happy birthday, Marco Diaz.”

Kelly smiled as she gazed in awe at the soulrise unfolding before her, its shimmering form still twisting and writhing over the water. It had always been one of her favorite sights, but after her heart-to-heart with Marco this one had taken on a special significance. It was her first real act of claiming independence from the amalgam of “Kelly and Tad,” the first step towards finding out what it meant to be just Kelly. She couldn't help but feel grateful for that.

And a large portion of that gratitude was extended to the boy huddled under a hoodie with her, watching that same soulrise in wonder. She'd always intended for this trip to reclaim the soulrise for herself, but she wasn't sure she would have been able to go through with it without his help. At the very least Tad would have still been up in her hair, and that would have dampened the mood considerably. She'd always thought of Marco as Star's funny but weird human friend, and she was surprised to find he could be so caring and sweet. She supposed that there must have been some reason Star had become so attached to him, but it was one thing to assume and another to experience it firsthand.

As the glow of the soulrise started to die down,, the two teens glanced at each other. Sharing a single scrawny boy's hoodie meant they were nestled almost uncomfortably close. Their bare arms were touching, and she could feel his warmth spreading through her own (admittedly pretty chilly, as Marco had correctly surmised) body. It could have been awkward, but Kelly felt oddly at ease. It seemed Marco felt the same, because he gave her a shy little smile that she returned.

“So this is about Star, right?” she asked, completely obliterating the mood.

Marco's face took on a pained expression and he sighed. For a moment he looked like he was about to vehemently deny it, but instead his whole body deflated and he gripped his head in his hands. “Yes,” he said. “Is it that obvious?”

“Well, I mean, you did uproot your entire life for her. Left behind your friends, your family, your girlfriend, everyone and everything you'd ever cared about to go be her squire,” Kelly said, counting each point off on her fingers. “Plus there was that time she declared she had a crush on you in front of a party full of people, including me. Also when Tom and Star kiss in front of you, you kind of wince a little.”

Marco winced at the end of Kelly's long list. “Yeah, like that!” she said. Instead of responding, his head just sunk deeper into his hands and he let out a loud groan.

Kelly frowned. This wasn't going as well as she'd intended. She reached out and patted him softly on the back. “Hey, it's okay! If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure Star hasn't noticed. Or Pony Head, since she would definitely tell Star if she had. Like, immediately. Right away.”

“I know,” Marco whined, flopping over onto his side and leaving Kelly alone under the hoodie. Strangely, she found she missed the feeling of him next to her. “But that's just because Star's so busy with Tom and being a princess and bringing monsters and Mewmans together, and Pony Head is a self-absorbed narcissist. Between Tad and now you, apparently I'm an open book.”

Kelly gathered the hoodie around herself and then gripped Marco's shoulder, gently turning him over until he was facing her again. “Look, Tad is pretty observant, since sitting in my hair and watching people is basically all he ever does. And we just had a long conversation about relationships, so of course I noticed. It doesn't mean everyone can tell.”

Marco sighed again, but he was sagging just a little bit less than before. After a long pause, Kelly decided to press things a little further. “So...are you going to tell her?”

Marco immediately snapped to attention, sitting straight up so fast he practically vibrated when he came to a stop. “No way! She's with Tom now. I missed my chance.” He looked down, the panic that overtook him as soon as she'd asked her question draining out of his body. “It'd just be selfish of me to bring it up now, and it'd make things weird. She's still my best friend, and I don't want to ruin that.”

Kelly smiled. It was sweet of him to be thinking about his friend's happiness when he was going through so much turmoil, even if he was being a little melodramatic. Okay, a lot melodramatic. But Kelly hadn't exactly handled most of her break-ups with Tad that well, especially not this permanent one, so she couldn't judge him too harshly. Just a small, normal amount of judging.

Marco's arms hung limply at his sides, so Kelly reached out and grabbed one of his hands, clasping it firmly between both of hers. “You're a good friend, Marco Diaz. To Star, and to me.” She squeezed his hand in hers, and was surprised again at his warmth, at how his fingers seemed to intertwine so perfectly with her own. “You really helped me today when I was feeling my lowest, when so many of my friends didn't notice or just assumed Tad and I would get back together. So if you ever need a friend to talk this stuff through with, you can always give me a call.”

Marco finally looked up and met her eyes. There was still a sad look in them, but he managed to offer a genuine (if rueful) smile that set Kelly's heart fluttering for some reason. “Thanks, Kelly. That means a lot. You promise you won't tell anyone about all this?”

“My lips are _hair_ tight.” She snorted a laugh at her own joke. “Get it? Hair?”

Marco laughed too, the worry in his face easing as he did. “Hah, yeah, got me again. You're pretty quick with those, you know?”

“When it comes to puns, I _hair_ no effort!” she said, dissolving into a fit of giggles at her own wit.

“Okay, that one was a stretch.”

Kelly finally loosened her grip on Marco's hand and punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Do not insult my pun prowess,” she said with mock seriousness.

Marco laughed and held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I'm... _hair_ y sorry.”

Waves of laughter burst out of Kelly's mouth, causing her to roll around on the floor gripping her own stomach. Marco doubled over too, tears coming to his eyes as he laughed more freely than he had in a while. Eventually the two calmed down and just smiled at each other for a long moment, basking in the afterglow of their laughing fit.

“We...should probably head back to Star and Tom now,” Marco said, awkwardly breaking the spell. “Now that the soulrise is over they probably don't want to stay too much longer. It is pretty late.”

Kelly got up off the floor and dusted herself off. She gestured grandly at the ladder leading out of the tower they'd been watching the soulrise from and said “After you.”

Marco shook his head and then mirrored her own gesture to the ladder. “Oh no no, ladies first. I insist.”

“Hm...” Kelly said, pondering how to break the deadlock. “I know! Why don't we fight for it? Loser goes down first!” She pulled her usual greatsword out from her hair and got into a battlestance, grinning mischievously at Marco. This tower was a little small for a proper bout, but she could make it work.

Marco chuckled nervously, tugging at his collar. “Orrrr I could go down first, if it means that much to you.”

“Aw, fine, if you want to be boring about it,” Kelly said, tucking her sword back into her hair. Marco took that as his cue to head down, and she followed quickly after. As they walked, Kelly suddenly remembered that she was still wearing Marco's hoodie.

“Oh, you can have this back!” she said, handing the garment back over to him. “Thanks for letting me borrow it. And for everything tonight,” she added with a sincere smile.

“Thank you, Kelly,” he replied. “You know, we should hang out together more often. I've always thought of you as being Star's hairy friend who likes swords, but you're pretty cool. I'd love to get to know you a little better.”

Something twisted in Kelly's stomach that made her smile even wider. “I'd like that, Marco.”

The two wandered over the sand dunes, making their way back to their abandoned friends, both feeling just a little bit lighter than they had before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place right after Stump Day

It was the wee hours of the morning, and Star's birthday party was finally dying down. The adrenaline rush of nearly being killed by The Stump had let everyone stay up way later than they usually would have. Kelly knew she would probably pay for it later, but it was worth it to get to celebrate with all her friends.

Now, though, it was time for everyone to leave. Queen Moon and River had already gone back to bed a while ago, and Star had escorted Tom out to his demonic carriage to say goodbye, so Marco was using his dimensional scissors to help send everyone else back home. Janna was the next to go, and Marco had ripped open a portal to Earth.

“Is there anything else you need before you go, Janna?” Marco asked as she approached the portal.

“Nah, I've got everything I need right here,” Janna said, brandishing Marco's wallet.

“Wha – hey! How did you get that?!” Marco said, frantically patting himself down looking for his wallet. He tried to snatch it out of her hands, but Janna jumped backwards into the portal right as he did. She shot him some fingerguns and winked at him.

“See you around, Diaz,” she said as the portal closed around her.

“Aw man,” Marco said, hanging his head in defeat. “I hope she doesn't steal my identity again. Getting the government to deliver to a Mewni address is such a pain.”

Kelly giggled at Marco's misfortune, but the scene also made her think about her brief conversation with Janna earlier in the evening, and that made her blush. Her accusation that Kelly was jealous that Marco was fighting over Star was clearly ridiculous! Sure, the two of them had been hanging out a lot more lately, but that didn't mean anything.

Besides, they only did normal friend stuff when they hung out. Whenever she was feeling especially broken up about Tad, or when he was really conflicted about Star, they'd call each other and talk things out. Or sometimes instead they'd go get some goblin dogs together to get their minds off things, or he'd take her dimension hopping to show her all the weird places he'd found with his scissors. Oh, and sometimes they'd battle to the mock death in a sparring session (much to Jorby's initial chagrin). Totally normal friend stuff like that!

And maybe she'd been spending more time with him than she did with Star or Pony Head lately, but that was normal too! You become friends with your friend's friends and then do friend stuff together, because you're friends! Janna was clearly blowing things way out of proportion, probably because she loved getting a rise out of people. Kelly was absolutely, definitely sure that's all that was going on here.

“Did you want anything else before you head out, Kelly?” Marco said, snapping her out of her introspection. She looked around and realized she was the only one left, so it was just her and Marco left in the room. She fought to clear the blush from her cheeks as she scrambled to get her focus back on Marco's question.

“Oh, uh...do you have any of that rainbow cake left?” she asked.

“What? You want _more_ of that?” Marco said incredulously. “Between you and Star, you guys practically ate half of the thing yourselves! And it was huge! I know, because I baked it!”

Kelly stared at him blankly. “So...is that a no?”

Marco sighed. “No, I'm afraid we ate the whole thing, so there's not any left.” Then he suddenly smiled at her, and it became harder to keep the heat from rising to her face again. “I could show you the recipe sometime though, and then you could make it yourself! It's pretty tricky, but _sooooo_ worth it.”

“Oh, yeah, t-that'd be great!”

Kelly smiled back at him, and the two stood in silence like that for a few moments. This tended to happen sometimes when the two spent time together, but it never felt as awkward as it seemed like it should. It was like they were both just taking a moment to appreciate each other's company, before starting up their conversation again like nothing had happened. It was kind of nice, honestly.

Suddenly Marco's eyes lit up. “Oh, I almost forgot! Before you go, I wanted to thank you,” he said.

“For what?” Kelly asked. They'd had a good time at the party, but she couldn't think of anything in particular she'd done for him that night.

Marco gripped his forearm with his other hand and looked off to the side, a little embarrassed. “For...trying to talk me down when I was arguing with Tom. I knew I was out of line, but it was hard to stop myself. Sorry I didn't listen to you.”

“Oh, that. It's alright, Marco, it all worked out in the end. No need to beat yourself up about it.”

His gaze shifted back to her and he smiled again. “And thanks for sticking up for me, too.”

“Huh?” Now she was really confused. Sticking up for him? When did she do that?

“I heard you telling Janna off while Tom and I were fighting,” he explained. “It's nice to know someone had my back, even if I was being dumb.”

Kelly couldn't keep herself from blushing now, a mixture of sheer embarrassment and some other emotion she couldn't identify overpowering her. “O-oh, you heard what Janna and I said?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably. She just had to hope Marco didn't notice.

Fortunately, it seemed like he was just oblivious enough not to. “Nah, I was pretty busy trying not to get burned to a crisp, so I only heard little bits and pieces, but I heard you being worried for my safety. It made me feel a little better.” Then his face screwed up and he tilted his head quizzically. “Also I thought I heard Tad for some reason?”

The mention of her ex brought Kelly back to Mewni, the blush quickly draining from her cheeks. She sighed and her tone became distinctly annoyed. “Yeah, _apparently_ he snuck back into my hair somehow, even though he _promised_ he'd moved out for good!”

She groaned in frustration. “Every time I feel like I might finally be moving on, he pops back up again like nothing's changed! How am I supposed to get past this when he won't leave?” She punctuated her last sentence by kicking at a pony balloon that had settled near her feet. The balloon whinnied in pain and tried to gallop away from her, but it ran headlong into a suit of armor. The armor shook and loosened its grip on the sword it was holding, which promptly fell onto the balloon and popped it.

Kelly covered her mouth with her hands in shock and gasped. “Oops, sorry,” she whispered to the now deceased balloon.

“I'm sorry, Kelly,” Marco said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She turned back to look at him, his eyes now full of sympathy. “I know how hard it is to let go of your feelings when the person you're trying to get past is always right there.”

Kelly took a deep breath to calm herself down, then put her hand over Marco's resting on her shoulder. “Yeah, I know you do. That's why we have each other, right? Because we know exactly how the other feels.” She squeezed his hand and mustered up another smile for him. Something about the feeling of his hand on hers always managed to help her feel better.

They stayed like that for another few moments before Kelly let go. Marco took his hand off her shoulder and drew out his dimensional scissors. He ripped open a hole in the air, and Kelly could see the familiar horizon of Woolandia staring back at her from the other side.

“I'll see you again soon, right Kells?” he said.

She nodded and went to go through the portal before stopping abruptly. “Actually,” she said slowly, “I just remembered there is one thing I wanted before I left.”

“Is it some of that rock candy corn that turns to kettle corn in your mouth?” he asked. “I think there's some of that left in the kitchen. If I hurry I could-”

Before she could stop herself, Kelly interrupted Marco by wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. Her head was pushed up against his chest and she could feel the beat of his heart. It thrummed quickly in surprise when she first gripped him, but then it slowed down and she could feel him wrap his arms around her and return the hug.

It felt like they stayed that way for hours, but it was probably only a few seconds later when Kelly pulled away. “Thanks,” she said quietly. “See you soon.”

And with that, she stepped through the portal, which rapidly closed behind her. She was blushing furiously again, but it was fine, she told herself. That was just a normal friend hug, that normal friends do all the time. It was definitely not anything else and there was no reason to be embarrassed.

No reason at all.


End file.
